LOKKU ZACHARAIAH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner an ex employee of the Department of Survey of India of the Central Government has presented this petition praying for quashing the order of the Director General, Survey of India by which penalty of dismissal was converted into one of compulsory retirement.

(2.) The facts of the case, in brief, are as follows :

(3.) The contention of the petitioner is that the conduct which led to the conviction of the petitioner was a minor one and did not warrant imposition of penalty of dismissal from service. Along with the petition, the petitioner had not produced the order by which he was dismissed from service. It was also not clear from Annexures A and B as to the nature of the offence for which the petitioner was convicted and the basis for passing the order of dismissal from service. The petitioner pleaded that he belonged to weaker section of the society and had with great difficulty approached this Court through the legal aid and was not fully aware of the orders passed. In the circumstances after the matter was heard in part, Learned Counsel for the respondents was directed to produce the original records including the order of dismissal. Accordingly, the records including the Service Register of the petitioner was produced. In the Service Register, the order dated 9-1-1967 by which the petitioner was dismissed from service has been fully extracted. It reads :